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i?, H. 60mm/M4. DRAW BAR SLACK ADjUS P. H. DONOVAN. DRAW BAR sLAcKADJUSTER. APPucATmN'mm Moy. a. 191e.

Patented une 17, 1919.

mvEN'ron l nl Y ID euren sin s Parana onirica.

PAI'RICK H. DONOVAE, OFPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVAlN-IA, ASSIG- NQR Tt) THEWEST- ENGHOUSE AE BRAKE CMPANY, 01E WILMERDING, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- ircnariou or rnnnsrnvama.

BEAJiT-AESLCK AUJ'USTER.

i Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 17, 1919.

Application led November 8, 1916. Serial No. 130,59. Y

To all lwwm t may concern Be it known that I, PATRICE; H. Donovan, acitizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county ofAllegheny and ,State of Pennsylvania, have invented 'new and usefulImprovements in Draw-Ban Slack Adjusters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus "stopping trains, and moreparticularly connection with the use of brakes on long trains. y I

With the usual brakes employed for stopping trains, such as the wellknown Huid pressure brake, a certain amount of time is required totransmit the braking action from the point of initiation at the head endFig. i,

of the train* to the rear end and as a consequence, the brakes areapplied at the front end o the trainlbefore any braking action takesplace at the rear end.

There is always a certain amount of slack in the draw-bar and coupler ateach car and thi" permits the unbraked cars at the rear of the train torun in on the braked tra ins.

--cars at the liead end of the train, thus causing damaging shocksparticularly on long According to the principal `feature of my;

inventionit is therefore proposed to provide lmeans for taking up theslack when an application ot the brakes is to be made, so that g thetrain being substantially rigid, the train can be-'stopped 'as a unit,to a large extent, regardless of the fact that the brakes are applied atone part of the train before they are applied at another part.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a carbrake and draw-bar equipment embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a similardiagrammatic View, showing a modified form of my invention; Fig. 3 anelevational view of an apparatus embodying my invention, which isadapted to be controlled manually; Fig. 4 a plan View of still anotherform of my invention; and Fig. 5 an elevationaiview thereof.

According to the. construction shown. in

` the drawings'l indicates a duid for pressure brake apparatus connectedto the usual brake rigging 2. The usual car cow pier 3 1s lconnected-bya draw-bar 4 with a draft vgear 5-and` according to oneform of y myinvention there is interposed between the end sill 6 of the car and thecoupler 3 a pair of wedge blocks '7, adapted when forced in- 'wardly totake up the slack betweenthe couipler and thevend' sill.

The wedge blocks 7 maybe operated through leveis 8, pivot-cd to the sill6 and connected to toggle-links 9. The toggle links 9 are connectedtogether by a link 10 which" is operatively connected to a rod' l1having a pivoted connection with the brake rigging 2. y

SpringslZ, applied to the end sill 6 and acting on `levers 8 may beemployed to assist in the release movement of the parts and aspring 13,may be interposed inthe rod l1 to provide elasticity and prevent unduestrainron the parts. l

ln operation, the parts being in release, as

shown in Fig. l, upon applying the brakes,-

tlie movement of the brake rigging exerts a pull on the rod ll whichtends to straighten the toggle links 9 and thereby force the wedgeblocks together, 'so as to take up any siack which may exist between thecoupler 3 and the end sill 6.

Since the slack is thus taken up when the brakes are applied, the slackcannot run in by Vreason ci the fact that the brakes are applied at thehead end of the trainbefore they are applied at the rear end andconsequently damaging shocks are prevented.

In releasing. ihetogglelinks 9 return to release position :and the Wedgeblocks 7, assisted by the springs 12, will be moved outwardly, vso thatthe usual slack will exist while the train is running and can beutilized to assist in starting the train, as heretofore.

Instead of operating the slack take-up device through the movement ofthe brake rigging, a separate operating cylinder may bc employed, suchas the cylinder 14, shown in Fig. i of the drawings.

The piston rod l5 of said cylinder may be connected to floating lever 1Ghaving a pivoted connection with the rods 11 extending to the slad(take-up devices at opposite ends of the 1l, so that the wedge blocks 7are actuated` as in the case of the Fig. l construction.

According to another form ot my 1nven- `tion, as.sli.own in Fig. 3 ofthe drawings,

the slack may be taken up manually before the train is started, byproviding pivoted levers 1S for operating the wedge blocks 7. The otherends of the levers 18 are connected i'o chains 19 having a commonconnecting link 20 to which is connected a chain 21 adapted to be woundon a drum carried by a horizontally arranged shaft 23. At opposite yendsof the shaft 23 are secured hand wheels 2l and ratchet wheels 25 may beprovided on said shaft having engaging pawls 26 for Alocking 'the shaft23 in its adjusted position. A hand operated shaft 27 may be providedfor lifting the pawls 26 when it is desired to release the wedge lblocks7.

mln operation, before the train is started, one of the hand wheels 24 isoperated to rotate the shaft 27 and wind up chain 21, so as toefi'ectthe closing in of the levers 18 and the .inward movement of the .wedgeblocks 7, suflieient slack being left to insure the ready starting ofthe train. if it is desired to release the Wedge blocks 7, the shaft'27is operatedto lift the ratchet pawls 26 and thus permit the releasemovement o1" the parts, assisted by the release springs l2.

In Figs. fl and 5 of the drawings, is shown another construction, inwhich the slack is taken up by providing teeth 28 en a push ,rod 32mounted below the draw-bar and a pawl 29 adapted to be actuated by meansof .a bell crank 30 connected to the rod l1.

A downwardly extending lug 33 is pro vided on the vcoupler head 3 and aspring 34 acts on Jthe push rod 32 and tends to maintain saine inengagement with the lug In operation, when the train is running, thestretch or slack is followed up by the push rod 32 maintainingengagement With the coupler lug 33 through the action of spring and uponapplying the brakes, the bell crank 30 being fulcrumed at 3l, the pullexerted on the rod ll when the brakes are applied, as hereinbeforedescribed, causes the bell crank to throw thepawl 29 into engagementwith one of theteeth 28 and thus lock the push rod 32, so that thecoupler headlis held out and the train slack is prevented from runningin.

Having noW described my invention, what I claim as ne\v.and desire tosecure b Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a draw-bar and means for applying the brakes, ofmechanism. operatively connected t0 said means and operating uponapplying the brakes to take up draw-bar slack.

.2. The combination with a car coupler and the end sill of a car, ofWedge blocks and means operated upon applying the brakes for wedgingsaid blocks between the coupler and the end sill to take up the drawbarslack.

3. The combination with a draw-bar, of a device for taking up thedraw-bar slack and means operated by applying the brakes for actuatingsaid device.

d@The combination `with a car coupler, of Loperating wedge blocksinterposed between the coupler andthe end sill of the car and a lever`mechanismoperated upon applying the brakes for actuating said Wedgeblocks to take up the draw-bar slack. In testimony whereof I hereuntoset my iand.

PATRICK H. DONOVAN.

